Bertil Roos

Bertil Ingemar Roos (12 October 1943, Gothenburg, Sweden - 31 March 2016) was a Swedish racing driver who participated in one Formula One Grand Prix before establishing a successful racing school in America. He began his racing career in 1968 driving in a Formula V championship in Sweden. Roos enjoyed early success by winning the US Formula Super Vee title in 1973, which brought him to the attention of Formula One teams. He also performed well in Formula 2 in Europe and Formula Atlantic in Canada, demonstrating his versatility across different racing categories.

On the strength of these achievements, the new American Formula One team Shadow hired Roos for the 1974 season. However, he and Shadow did not mesh well, and the team ultimately chose to work with Tom Pryce instead. Roos received only one opportunity in Formula One, participating in his home 1974 Swedish Grand Prix at Anderstorp, where he retired with transmission failure. Despite his early promise and success in junior formulae, Roos never received another chance to prove himself in Formula One.

He continued racing into the 1980s, becoming a two-time Can-Am champion in the 2-liter and under category, demonstrating his continued competitiveness in sports car racing. Four years after leaving Sweden, Roos moved to the United States and became an instructor at Fred Opert's racing school in Pennsylvania near Pocono Raceway. He later purchased this business, transforming it into the successful Bertil Roos Racing School. He designed and built a successful training racing car specifically for use at the school, combining his racing experience with engineering knowledge to create an effective learning tool for aspiring drivers, leaving a lasting legacy in American motorsport education.